Sparky
by lynalexandria
Summary: My late edition to the Christmas buzz. Fitz and Olivia have been dating for a long time now, but he's having a very hard time getting her a Christmas gift.


**NSFW**

* * *

' _Fuck!_ ' Fitz hissed lowly as he walked out of his apartment building and the blistering cold air hit him like a ton of bricks. It had been snowing for the past week or so and he felt like it would never end. He was from California and had lived there most of his life, so this was something new to him.

There were stairs at the side of the building that he had to take to get to his car. They had had a thin layer of slippery ice on them for the past couple of days and he had already almost slipped on them once. After learning that hard lesson, Fitz used both of his hands to hold on tightly to the side railing as he stepped down one by one.

Because it was so close to Christmas, all of the local schools had let out for the holidays. There was a group of boys playing in the snow when they saw Fitz struggling to make it down the steps and they began to pelt him with the snowballs in their hands. Everybody in town knew that he wasn't really from around there, so they found it fun to mess with him during the winter time.

'Hey!' he yelled as he tried to shield his face away from the onslaught.

There was a reason he didn't already have kids and this was one of them. He didn't think he was ready to be dealing with some obnoxious little brats everyday. Plus, he was still in school and was almost finished earning his PhD. Once he got it, though, he'd finally be able to leave Vermont for good and move somewhere warmer. Maybe then he'd think about having some children and raising them not to be little assholes like the ones that lived in his apartment complex.

The boys all laughed and began to throw even more snow. Their little hands were forming snowballs faster than before as it became their mission to make Fitz lose his footing on the stairs. When he reached the bottom step they got their wish and he fell straight down on his behind and into the cold snow.

Fitz didn't know what hurt worse; the fact that he had fallen on the concrete, or the way the cold snow managed to go underneath his coat and up his back.

'Haha.' he said sarcastically as he tried to stand up. He was in a rush today and didn't feel like playing the boys little games. 'This isn't funny, boys. I could have seriously gotten hurt.' Fitz explained, trying to be the adult.

'You need to toughen up, California boy.' one of the boys said. His name was TJ and he was definitely the 'leader' of the group.

After watching him struggle for a few moments, TJ and the boys decided to help Fitz to his feet. They all dramatically grunted and moaned as if he was just the heaviest thing in the world and breathed heavily once he was up. Fitz dusted the snow off of his clothes and readjusted the hat on his head, his body shivering a bit. He was positive that all of his blood and internal organs were going to turn into frozen mush before the end of the winter.

'I shouldn't have to toughen up just to get to my car. Maybe you guys just shouldn't throw snowballs at people.' he said pointedly.

'Aw, we were just fooling around Mr. Fitz.' one of the other boys groaned.

'You boys better get it together.' Fitz warned. 'Don't make me go tell your teacher what you've been up to.'

All of the boys gasped at that. TJ shook his head desperately. 'Please don't! We're sorry! We'll stop playing around! We promise!'

'Mmm.' he hummed and crossed his arms. 'I'll think about it. But, you boys better get out of here right now.'

Fitz watched as the boys ran off to go play somewhere else and smiled victoriously. He checked his pockets and saw that he didn't have his car keys and groaned when he realized he'd have to go all the way back up the stairs to get them. He groaned again, but even louder, when he looked up the stairs and realized how long it would take him to get back up and down the steps again.

The only leverage that Fitz had around this town was his girlfriend, Olivia. She was one of the head teachers at the local elementary school and she had been living in Vermont all of her life. They had been dating for 3.5 years now and it seemed like everyday got better than the last. Whereas he was from a big town and used to things being a bit more fast paced, she was different. Different in a good way. He could never exactly find the words to describe her, but he loved her dearly.

She was this strange mixture between being grounded and down to earth, but also having her head way off in the clouds. Olivia carried herself with poise and grace, but she wasn't afraid to get a bit silly when the time called for it. She loved people and animals and nature and he loved watching her connect to everything around her. Sometimes if they went for a walk and he wasn't holding her hand or watching, he'd find her a few paces behind smelling the flowers or gently nudging acorns to the side and off of the path.

Olivia did have her cut throat side as well, though. Fitz would always swear that she must have been a lawyer or politician in another life. It took a lot for anybody to get on her bad side, but it was the last place they'd want to be.

After finally making it to his car, he started on his way towards the mall. He wanted to go ahead and pick up Olivia's Christmas gift and get it wrapped up and ready for the holidays. He could have waited a few more days to get it done, but he was way too excited. Fitz had spotted a beautiful tennis bracelet in the window of a jewelry shop, and he just knew she had to have it. She didn't take much value in expensive gifts, but she deserved it. He didn't have much money, but he enjoyed spoiling her with what he did have.

While Fitz's family was rich, he had been struggling for a little while now. His father had all of these plans to make him a successful politician, but he didn't want that for his life. After escaping California to go to school, his father cut him off completely and left him to fend for himself. It was hard at first and he didn't know how he was going to survive, but he stuck it out. Plus, he did have a little help.

Olivia was the first person that Fitz met when he moved to Vermont, and he had been sprung ever since. She was nice and caring and had even split her sandwich with him at the park after she found out he hadn't had anything to eat. They became close very fast and they started dating soon after.

She had even helped him find a job, although he hated it. He was currently an accountant at a small firm in town and while it didn't pay much, he was able to pay his bills and still afford to have a little left over. Once he got his degree and was able to move out of Vermont and back into a bigger city, he knew he'd make much more.

He and Olivia often joked about what life would be like once he finished his degree, but he already knew what he wanted. Fitz wanted to leave town with her and move them into a nice, big house in the city of their choosing. He knew she'd never give up teaching, she loved it way too much, but he'd still give her the option. As soon as he could afford it, he'd buy her a ring and propose and they'd get married. He was going to accomplish all of this, even if he had to drag her out of Vermont kicking and screaming.

Because school was out, Olivia had taken up a part time job in the mall as well. It was just something to do to bring in a little extra money over the break and she didn't have to do much anyway. Fitz managed to sneak by the store where she was working, but not before glancing in to see her standing behind the counter.

There was hardly nobody in the shopping center, it was the middle of the day and most people still had to go to work, so she was just reading a magazine and chewing gum. It amazed him that she still looked absolutely stunning even when she was dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt and doing nothing. Fitz felt a bit silly hiding behind the large nutcracker outside of the storefront, but he really didn't want to get caught. He was supposed to be a work right now, so seeing him at the mall would raise too many questions.

After realizing he was kind of being a creep by just standing around and watching her, he decided to continue on his way towards the jewelry shop. Fitz had called ahead and told the man to take the bracelet out of the window because he'd be on his way to get it, and he smiled when he saw the mannequin's wrist was empty.

Theodore, the owner of the shop, was sitting behind one of the counters and carefully inspecting a pair of earrings that he had been cleaning. He was an older guy with a big, round belly, which is why he played Santa Claus at the town's festival every year. He hadn't even noticed Fitz walk in so he didn't look up as he approached him.

He cleared his throat. 'Good afternoon, Theodore.'

The man's head shot out and he smiled brightly. 'Hello, Fitzgerald. Are you here to pick up your package?'

'I certainly am.' he smiled and reached down into his pocket to pull his wallet out.

'Excellent!' Theodore stood up from his seat and went in the back to go and get it.

Fitz had been making small payments on Olivia's gift for the past 5 months. It would be the most expensive thing he had ever gotten her, but it was worth it. The bracelet itself was silver and it had diamonds going around the band, and the clasp had been molded into a heart. As soon as he saw it, he knew it was for her.

'Olivia is going to be so happy with this, Fitz.' Theodore gushed as he came back out to the counter with the bracelet in his hands. He had personally handled it himself and it was now shining and glistening in the light.

'I sure hope so.' Fitz smiled and handed over his debit card.

'After you give it to her, I want you to bring her by so that I can see it on her wrist. I honestly couldn't think of another woman it would even remotely look good on.' he said as he swiped Fitz's card and handed over his receipt so that he could sign it.

'I sure will.' he nodded. 'I'm sure she'd be happy to let you see it. She'll probably kill me first when she finds out how much it was.' Fitz chuckled and shook his head.

'You tell her that she needs to stop worrying about things like that.' he waved off the statement. 'I'm glad you're doing this for her. She deserves it.'

Theodore had known Olivia all of her life and he had never seen her happier than what she was with Fitz. She was already a very cheery person, but he brought something out of her that wasn't there before. It's almost as if she had been constantly glowing for the past few years, and he loved to see that. When Fitz showed interest in getting her the bracelet, he let him get on a payment plan to make sure that she'd have it by Christmas.

'You may have to do it. You know she doesn't listen to me.' he laughed.

'She doesn't really listen to anybody.' Theodore snorted as he gently placed the bracelet into the box and sealed it up.

'Thank you, Theodore. We'll see you at the Christmas Carnival.' he said as he slid the box into the pocket of his jacket.

'You be careful with that, Fitz.' Theo warned. 'Don't let her see it before Christmas Day. You promised you'd keep it a surprise.'

'You have my word.' Fitz smiled and lifted his hand as if he was pledging.

Because Fitz had missed the first part of his work day to go and get Olivia's bracelet, he had to stay late at the office tonight. He was the only person there and there wasn't much to do, but his boss was a total Scrooge and didn't want to let him off any extra time. He couldn't wait to start working for himself and spending this time with his Livvie instead of cooped up in some cold office building alone.

He wasn't very close to his family, the relationship was very strained after they cut him off, so he didn't like keeping reminders of them around. Instead, there were only pictures of Olivia scattered around his desk. She occasionally dabbled in photography so she had some really nice shots of them from some of the time they spent together. Fitz would usually crop himself out of the photos, though. He'd much rather just look at her.

All of his friends made fun of him because he was completely 'whipped', but he couldn't deny that. He was just a man in love with an incredible woman. Fitz couldn't help the fact that he had fallen so hard for her.

Fitz felt his cellphone buzz on his desk and he looked up from his online game of Solitaire to see who it was. He smiled when he saw Olivia's name and he slid his phone open to see what she had sent. It was a Friday evening and usually they'd be spending this time together, but he was still stuck in the office.

Olivia had attached a photo of herself completely naked and sitting in front of the Christmas tree in her living room. There was a big red bow tied around her stomach and just enough tinsel hanging around her body to cover her nipples. She had one of her hand teasingly over her vagina so that his view was blocked, and she had a candy cane in the other one.

Fitz could almost feel the way the blood rushed down from the head on his neck and down to the other one. He shifted a bit to try and calm himself down and clenched his jaw. He picked up his work phone and dialed her phone number because he knew it by heart.

She answered after a few rings. 'Helllooo?' Olivia sang coyly as if she hadn't done anything at all.

'Hi.' Fitz said, clearing his throat a bit. 'I got your message.'

'Did you like it?' she asked lowly. 'I guess Christmas came a little early.'

'I did.' he replied, glancing back down at his cellphone. 'Are you still wearing it?'

'I am.' Olivia nodded her head. 'I was waiting on you to get here.'

He sighed. 'I know, I know. I'm just running a few minutes behind.'

'I miss you.' she murmured softly.

'I miss you, too. I want to be right there with you.' Fitz said honestly.

'Well, then come unwrap me.' she bit back playfully. 'I'm just sitting here waiting on you to untie this bow.'

Fitz swallowed hard and checked his watch for the time. He hadn't realized how late it was, but it was really almost 9pm. He knew that leaving just a little bit early wouldn't really hurt anything and there wasn't a way for his boss to find out about it. Plus, he wouldn't be able to think about much of anything after seeing this photo.

'You had better get over here.' she warned after he went quiet for a few moments. 'I'm going to start touching myself.'

'Stop it, Olivia. That is for me to do.' Fitz lowly growled before turning his computer off and hopping out of his seat. 'I'll be there in 10 minutes.'

'But, I don't think I can wait that long.' she huffed. Olivia knew he only called her by her real name when he was upset or when she was in trouble, but she was enjoying teasing him. 'I just keep thinking about you on top of me and behind me and your head in between my—'

'10 minutes.' Fitz repeated before hanging up the office phone, nearly slamming it down on the reciever.

He grabbed his cellphone and keys off of his desk and headed out of the front door of the office. Fitz made sure to lock the door behind him then went straight to his car and got in. The roads were pretty slick with ice, but he carefully navigated himself towards Olivia's apartment. There were never enough parking spots in the actual lot, so he decided to just park on the street so he wouldn't waste time looking for one.

Fitz took his phone out and called Olivia. 'Open the door. I'm about to come up the stairs now.'

'Say the magic words.' she teased lightly.

'Olivia, if you don't open the door I'm going to bend you over my knee.' he said sternly.

Olivia felt a shiver run up and down her spine at the sound of that. She wasn't sure why, but she enjoyed teasing Fitz. He would turn bright red and a vein would pop out on his forehead. She missed him too much tonight, though. All she wanted was to be in his arms.

'The doors already unlocked.' she purred softly.

Fitz hung up the phone and took the steps two at a time. It was a bit tough because his butt was still sore from earlier, but he still managed to do it. He made rushed strides down the walkway until he reached her door and he wasted no time opening it. He expected her to still be sitting under the tree, but she was standing in front of the door, still with nothing on.

Olivia's eyebrows immediately raised. She knew how much he hated the snow and being cold, so she was surprised to see that he wasn't bundled up with his coat on. 'Where's your—'

'Shut up.' he demanded as he shut the door behind him.

Before Olivia could even get another word out, his hands were all over her. He immediately went for the tinsel that was hanging around her neck and covering her perky breasts. Fitz threw it off to the side as he began to slowly back her towards the Christmas tree once more.

She chuckled against his lips. This was the exact response that she was expecting out of him. Fitz had his days where he was soft and gentle and it seemed like their lovemaking just went on forever, but he also had days where he fucked her until her legs gave out and still wanted more. Obviously, today was going to be one of those days.

'Baby, slow down.' she mumbled as she tried to pull away some and start taking his clothes off.

Fitz pulled her closer to him by her wrists, their bodies slamming together hard as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do with her first. His hands immediately went behind her back and he squeezed down on her exposed behind.

'This is my gift.' he reminded her as he smacked one of her cheeks. 'I don't want to go slow.'

Olivia squealed and winced, pressing herself closer into him. Fitz gently rubbed the sting away with one hand, while his other one traveled lower to her slit. She was already a little wet, but he knew that that would be changing soon. She moaned softly as his fingers gently explored her vagina. She could feel his erection pressing into her tummy and she couldn't help but shiver a little when she thought about the way he was going to stretch her walls out.

She thought he was going to take his time getting the bow off, but he ripped it apart until it fell onto the floor in tattered pieces. Sometimes it seemed like he became more monster than man, but thats what she was looking for tonight. It was really something that only Fitz was able to provide for her.

While he began to unbutton his shirt, Olivia started working on the buckle on his belt and zipper. She could see his penis twitching in his khaki pants, and she couldn't help but lick her lips. While he was busy trying to get his shirt off, she dropped down to her knees in front of him. Usually he would try and stop her, but tonight he just watched it happen.

Olivia pushed his pants and boxers down until they were just a forgotten heap down at his ankles. Her long, bouncy curls were down to her shoulders, but he gathered it up in his hand and pushed it back out of her way. She gently kissed both of his thighs before going to his balls and sucking one into her mouth.

Fitz immediately threw his head back as her warm lips and tongue worked over his sac. His other hand pushed some of falling strands of hair back on her head. Olivia's mouth always felt heavenly, but there a place he'd much rather finish in. He felt his thighs clenched as she licked all the way up his shaft and then circled her tongue around the sensitive tip of his penis.

She looked up at him as she began to slid his cock down her throat. Fitz was definitely a dominant Alpha male when it came to sex, but she always felt so in control when she was pleasuring him. It felt good knowing that every grunt and gasp he made was caused by something that she was doing. She fisted the base of his penis and kept her hand firm as she bobbed her head back and fourth.

Fitz's hips involuntarily flexed forward, pushing him even deeper in her throat. His toes curled against the red and white tree skirt that they were currently on top of. When Olivia started using her other hand to massage his balls, he knew he needed to stop. He grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her off of his dick.

Her bottom lip poked out, although she knew it was coming. Olivia wiped her bottom lip and watched as he stepped out of his pants and boxers. Fitz kicked his clothes off to the side and then kneeled down so that he could sit on the floor with her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started laying open mouth kisses on her neck. She reached in between them and grabbed his manhood. He slowly thrust his hips back and fourth, groaning softly.

'I don't know how I want you first.' he admitted before sinking his teeth into her neck. Fitz pushed one of his hands between their bodies until it ended up at the juncture between her thighs. He found her swollen clit and used his thumb to rub circles on top of it.

Olivia hissed, her body jerking as she clung to him further. She threw one of her arms around his body, making him feel closer than before. One of her favorite things to do was to be against him with nothing between except air.

'However you want me.' she said breathily.

'However I want?' his eyebrows raised.

' _Yes!_ ' she cried out as she started rocking her hips against his hands, chasing after her orgasm.

'That's right, baby.' he encouraged. 'Make yourself cum. Cum right on my hand.'

'S— _So close_!' she shut her eyes and threw her head back.

Fitz used his free hand to pump his cock slowly. There was nothing sexier to him than watching Olivia orgasm and he was glad that he was the only person who got to see it. Once she finally found her release she cried out and immediately leaned in to kiss him. He smiled and playfully bit down on her bottom lip.

'Lay down on your stomach.' he said once her breathing had finally evened out. 'Let me get my present.'

Olivia nodded her head and did as she was told. She rolled over and laid down flat on her tummy, and spread her legs out bit to give him access to what was in between. Fitz sat on his knees between her thighs and spread her cheeks apart. She was soaking wet and dripping down her thighs from her orgasm. He pressed the tip of his penis against her entrance and teased them both.

She moaned softly and raised her hips to try and make him slide in. Fitz took hold of her waist and pushed her body back down against the floor. He laid on top of her so that his chest would be pressed flush against her back. He pushed the tip of his penis into her warmth and grunted as her inner muscles squeezed down on him.

Fitz grabbed a handful of her curly hair and turned her head towards him. He kissed her and slid his tongue in between her lips as they tasted each other. He pushed his hips forward without warning, thrusting his entire penis inside of her. Her screamed loudly and her body bucked against his as her walls stretched to accommodate his size. Olivia's eyes snapped shut and fingers clenched against the tree skirt underneath them as she began to pull it.

'Look at me, Olivia.' he growled, showing her no mercy as she struggled to get her words out. 'Look. At. Me.'

She nodded her head and opened her eyes again for him. They would have all night to take it slow, but right now all Fitz wanted was to have her screaming and thrashing underneath him. He hadn't seen her all week long and he felt the need to remind her who she belonged to. Olivia was all his and he wanted to make sure that she remembered that.

His large hands moved on top of her tiny ones and held them tightly as he filled over and over and over again. His thrusts were fast and sharp, his hips snapping against hers each time. When she started howling and sobbing, he was sure that her neighbors heard her.

After what seemed like hours of them fucking on the floor, they both orgasmed together. It was pretty rare that they both finished at the same time, but tonight they both seemed really in sync. Olivia buried her face into the plush fabric beneath them as Fitz squirted his seed inside of her. She had been on the pill for a while now so they had ditched the condoms a while ago. They had been exclusive for over 3 years so they knew they were safe from any type of disease or virus.

Fitz rocked his hips back and fourth a few more times inside of her before pulling completely out. He was still breathing hard as he stood to his feet and headed towards the restroom to grab a towel so that they could clean up. He ran some warm water over the fabric and brought it back.

Once they were both clean, Olivia rolled over on her back and he laid down beside her. She smiled brightly and kissed his cheek. 'Hi, baby.'

He chuckled. '"Hi, baby"? That's all you have to say to me?'

'Well, you came in and didn't speak at all, and I thought that was very rude of you.' her lip poked out. 'You only ever have one thing on your mind.'

Fitz laughed at her silliness. 'How was I supposed to react when you sent me that naked picture of you? I had to come and claim what's mine.' he said as he reached over and caressed her thigh.

Olivia's legs automatically fell apart and he cupped her pussy. 'You're so possessive.'

'Who else gets you wet like I do?' he asked, gently massaging her lower lips. Fitz knew how sensitive she was after sex and that she needed a little while to recover so he'd be careful.

She bit down on her bottom lip. 'Nobody.'

'Who can fuck you better than I can?'

'Nobody.' she shook her head, never breaking eye contact with him.

'Then whose pussy is this?'

'Yours.' she smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

'You're damned right.' he moved on top of her, resting his weight on his elbows so that he wouldn't squash her.

Olivia's fingers gently grazed up and down his back as he showered her face with kisses and affection. 'Can you go get us a blanket, please?'

'Am I not keeping you warm enough?' he asked, his eyebrows raising.

'You are, but now I'm tired and I kind of want to take a nap right here on this floor.' she laughed and stretched her arms out on the tree skirt.

He smirked. 'One blanket, coming right up.'

While Fitz went to get the covers out of her bedroom, Olivia decided to turn on the fireplace. It was just a simple switch on the side of the mantle, but she liked to pretend that it was hard work to do. By the time he returned, she was already sitting back down underneath the tree and waiting for him. He had the blanket in his arms and he threw it to her.

'Wow, did you light that yourself?' he asked, glancing over at the fire.

'I did.' she nodded proudly. 'I even went out this morning and chopped the wood. Aren't you impressed?'

'That's not the only wood you're good at chopping down.' he said suggestively as he wiggled his eyebrows and gestured down to his now soft penis.

Olivia laughed loudly and opened her arms up for him. 'You're so gross. Get over here.'

He chuckled and walked over to where she was sitting. Olivia hadn't noticed it before, but there was now a weird bruise on his thigh. Her eyebrows furrowed as he laid down on top of her once more and he covered them with the blanket.

'What happened to your hip?' she asked, pushing him off of her so that she could get a better look.

He laid down on his stomach beside her. 'What's wrong with it?' his brows furrowed and he looked down to see what she was talking about. Fitz sighed as he realized that there was now a huge black mark on his hip where he had fallen earlier.

'It looks like you got into a fight and lost!' she said as she examined him further. 'It's all over your ass!'

'I slipped coming down the stairs today.' he groaned and poked at the purple skin on his thigh, wincing a bit.

'Aw, baby.' she murmured softly and ran her fingers through his hair. 'What happened?'

'Those little asshole kids of yours were pelting me with snowballs as I was trying to get to my car.' he groaned.

Olivia snickered. 'Fitz, they're not little assholes. I'm sure they were just playing around with you.'

'They could've killed me!' he yelled, although they both knew he was being a bit dramatic about the situation.

'They're like 10 years old.' she grinned. 'You let a bunch of little kids bully you today.'

'Those boys are vicious. You should have seen the way they came after me.' he huffed and pouted to try and get some sympathy from her, but it wasn't really working.

'I'm sorry, baby.' she smiled and leaned in to kiss him. 'I'll be sure to plan a meeting with these boy's parents. Nobody is going to be mistreating my man.'

'My hero.' he cooed.

'Want me to kiss it and make it better?' she teased.

' **No**!' he shook his head and laughed. 'You know what would make me better?'

'What?'

'If it would just stop snowing for a few days.' he sighed happily at the thought.

'Aww.' Olivia said sympathetically. 'My little California boy still can't handle a little snow.'

'I read the forecast for Santa Barbara today. It was 72 degrees. I would kill to even see the sun.' he groaned, but then turned to her and smiled. 'I can't wait to take you out there on vacation. We can go to the beach and I'll finally be able to teach you how to surf.'

Olivia smiled and turned on her side so that she could face him. 'You really miss it, don't you?'

'I do.' he nodded. 'But, I'm glad I'm here. I would have never met you if I hadn't come. I don't know what my life would be like without you.'

'You're such a cornball.' she teased lightly. 'Maybe a little sun would be good for you. Your ass is so pale that it nearly blinds me.'

Fitz snorted. 'Even if we were at a beach, my ass wouldn't be exposed. I'm sorry, but you're going to looking at my pale ass for a very long time.'

'I've heard about all those nude beaches you all have out there.' she smirked. 'You need to go and just lay on your stomach for 5 hours straight.'

He shifted so that he could lay on his side as well and rested his head against his hand. 'A nude beach isn't such a bad idea. I'd like to see you walking around with nothing on but a little sun screen.' Fitz grinned and reached over to caress her thigh.

'We can go as soon as you finish school.' she said, her tone full of hope and promise. 'We'll go on a whole tour to celebrate your accomplishments, baby. You deserve it.'

' _Our_ accomplishments.' he corrected. 'I would have never made it this far without you. I'm the one walking across the stage, but I'm going to be picking up _our_ degree.'

'Mmmm.' she hummed lowly. 'I like the sound of that.'

'Oh really?' he smiled. 'Because after that, we're going to move into _our_ house, have _our_ wedding, and open up _our_ accounting firm. We just have a little while longer.'

She smiled back at him and then leaned in to kiss his nose. Olivia wasn't sure if they'd be able to accomplish all of this, Fitz definitely loved to dream big, but she liked doing this with him. They would sit around and just talk about how they wanted their lives to be, and it gave her hope that they'd get it.

Olivia pushed her hand down until her fingers laced together with the ones that were on her thigh. 'I'm right here with you.'

He gently rolled over so that he was laying on top of her and her legs parted to give him a bit more space. Fitz kissed down her neck and went past her clavicle until he reached the valley between her breasts. He took the right one in his hand and covered her nipple with his mouth. His tongue flicked over the sensitive nub a few times before drawing it in between his greedy lips and sucking.

Her night wasn't nearly finished.

* * *

The last thing Fitz wanted to do that morning was get up off of the living room floor, but he knew he needed to be at work. It wasn't that he had anything to do, but his boss would have an absolute fit if he didn't show up. Olivia was resting so peacefully on top of him that he really didn't want to disturb her. He couldn't wait for a day where they wouldn't have to move or get out of bed at all if they didn't want to. They could just lay together and make love and argue about whose turn it was to go to the kitchen and get something to eat.

 _But_ , they still had a while longer to go before that.

Fitz gently shifted so that he could move from under her, but she was clinging to his body. He sighed because she was making it harder and harder to make himself go to work, but he knew he didn't have another option. Once he was finally able to stand up, he covered her with the blanket and went to find his clothes.

Olivia liked to pretend like she actually knew how to work the fireplace, but he knew all about the switch on the side of it. He flicked it so that the fire would go out and he turned off the Christmas tree that they had accidentally left on. They had made love multiple times the night before and he knew that her body was absolutely spent, but this would always be a great memory.

He had a few outfits stored away in her closet so he went back into her bedroom so that he could shower and get dressed. Fitz knew they wouldn't be seeing any clients, so he kept it pretty casual and went with a simple pair of slacks and button down shirt. It wasn't until right then that he realized that he had accidentally left his jacket at the office the night before and Olivia's bracelet was inside of it. He smacked his forehead when he realized his mistake and a made a mental note to take it home with him.

By the time he was getting ready to leave, Olivia was awake and sitting up on the floor, the blanket lazily draped around her body. 'I want you to stay here with me.' she whined and raised her arms up to him like a child would do.

He chuckled. 'I'd like to stay here, but I need to get to work. You know my boss doesn't like the fact that his employees have lives outside of the office.'

'I know.' she sighed as he leaned down to hug her and kiss her cheek. 'I'm going to go work a shift down at the record shop and I'll be there until closing.'

Fitz frowned. 'You know you don't have to do that. I know I don't have much right now, but you shouldn't have to kill yourself trying to get a few extra dollars.'

'I'm not killing myself.' she smiled. 'Plus, its kind of fun. There's hardly nobody coming in, so all I do is read magazines and listen to music. And we're going to need all the money we can get when it's time for our California trip, right?'

His lips curled up into a smile. 'You're right. Good thinking, sweetheart.'

'I'm smarter than you.' she quipped and laid back down on the floor. She still had at least another 30 minutes before she had to get up and start getting ready. 'Remember that.'

He chuckled and shook his head.

* * *

When Fitz pulled up to the office there were people standing outside. His eyebrows furrowed and he pulled into his regular parking spot to see what all was going on. Some of his coworkers were standing around in a circle and drinking coffee so he went up to them first.

'What's going on?' he asked, looking around to try and piece together the scene.

'You didn't check your email?' his friend Andrew asked. 'The place was robbed last night. They cleared it out.'

'What!?' his eyes widened. 'You've got to be kidding!'

'I'm serious, dude!' he nodded his head. 'The police are in there dusting for finger prints right now. They're thinking the thief knew what he was doing because they wiped out all the security tapes as well.'

'I've got to get in there!' he said, pushing them to the side to try and get to the building.

'Fitz!' Andrew grabbed his arm and held him back. 'You can't get back in there right now! They're not letting anybody in or out!'

'Oh my God.' he groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Fitz began to nervously pace back and fourth and praying that they hadn't paid any attention to his desk or his jacket. 'I'm such and idiot. I'm such an idiot.'

'Dude, calm down' Andrew patted his back. 'It's not your fault the place got ran through. Plus, you know the old man has pretty good insurance. Why are you so worried about this?'

'I left my jacket in there by mistake last night!' he yelled. 'It had Olivia's Christmas gift in it!'

'Just get her another one.' his eyebrows furrowed. 'You need to calm down!'

'I worked 5 whole months to earn enough money to get this one!' he explained desperately. 'Christmas is in a few days! There's no way I'll be able to afford something else! I don't have enough time!'

Before their conversation would continue, their boss Cyrus Beene walked out of the building with the police right behind him. He was an old and selfish man, but he employed a lot of people around town so nobody every questioned him or his methods. His suit was the price of the average person's car note and he enjoyed flaunting his money at every opportunity he got.

'Listen up, everyone!' he yelled to get their attention. 'The police want to spend the rest of the weekend investigating around here so, unfortunately, I'll have to cut this work day short.'

All of the employees said a silent 'thank you', but kept their mouths shut.

'They're allowing everyone 2 minutes to go in and get their things, then you all need to clear the lot!' he ordered.

Fitz was the first person, running past everyone and going towards his desk. Andrew was right when he said that they had cleared everything out. All of the computers were gone, they had taken some of the chairs, and they had even managed to get the sign off of the door. He hurried over to his work station to find his jacket, but saw that it wasn't there.

He spotted it somewhere on the floor with dirt and boot marks all over it. Fitz couldn't care less about the state of his outerwear, though. His real concern was whether or not the bracelet was in the pocket. He smiled when he found the box and pulled it out, throwing the garment over to the side. He opened it up to make sure that it was still okay or hadn't been trampled, but it wasn't there.

Fitz rarely felt like crying, he was a bit of a macho man, but he had to hold the tears from falling today. It felt like he had been punched straight in the gut multiple times. At this point, he knew he didn't have enough money to get her anything nice like he had planned to. He clutched the box in his hands and made his way out of the office building. He ignored Cyrus, the police, and his coworkers before going to his car. He punched the steering wheel so hard that he hurt his own hand.

The only place that he could think about going was back to Theodore's shop. He didn't have much, but he knew he could at least get her a pair of earrings or maybe even a charm to go on a bracelet that her father had given her years ago. She still wasn't in for her shift at the record shop, so he didn't even have to sneak around to get to the jewelry store.

The mall was a little bit more crowded today, so Theodore had a bit of line waiting for him. He still saw Fitz, though when he walked in with his head hanging low and a frown on his face. He rang up the next customer then immediately walked over to where he was.

'Fitz, I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon.' his eyebrows furrowed.

'I wasn't expecting to be back so soon.' he sighed. 'I need to find another gift. Something closer to the $60 range this time.'

'What's wrong with the bracelet?' he asked. 'I thought that it would be absolutely perfect.'

'It was.' he nodded. 'But, somebody robbed the firm last night. They ransacked the whole place and they took it. I had left in such a hurry that I left it in my jacket pocket.'

'Oh no.' Theodore frowned. 'I tell you what, I have something that would be perfect for Olivia. Can you wait for a little bit while I check everyone else out? I have something that you can get.'

'That'd be great.' he smiled weakly and nodded his head.

After Theodore finished ringing up the last of his customers, he went to the front of the shop and shut the doors. He put a sign that said 'Will return in 15 minutes' and taped it to the front of the glass. Fitz watched curiously as he closed down all of the bling around the shop so that nobody could see what they were doing.

'Are you trying to give me some type of bomb here?' Fitz joked lightly.

'Something like that.'

Theodore walked over to one of the cases where he kept rings and opened up a safe compartment that was underneath it. He dug around until he found a ring and he showed it to Fitz and smiled.

'It's beautiful.' he commented as he took it out of Theodore's hand.

'It is.' Theodore nodded. 'And I've been waiting for just the right customer to come in and take it off of my hands.'

'Really?' Fitz' raised his eyebrows. 'What's special about it?'

'Well, it's one of a kind. You'll never find anything else like it.' he said as he leaned over the counter. 'It's was my grandmother's. Her father bought it at an auction for her years ago, and she didn't take it off until she gave it to me.'

'Then, Theodore, why are you giving it to me?' his eyebrows furrowed. 'Shouldn't you keep this?'

Theodore shook his head. 'I'm old, Fitz. I'm old, and I never found anybody to give it to. It would mean a lot to me knowing that it's going to good home.'

'Wow.' he breathed out heavily. 'Theodore, thank you for the gesture, but I—'

'It even has a name, you know?' he interrupted. 'Doux bebe. It means Sweet Baby in French.'

'Theodore, I can't afford this ring.' he shook his head. 'I worked my ass off to get Olivia that bracelet. You know that. I—'

'Fitz!' he yelled, interrupting him once again. 'I havent even told you how much it costs.'

Fitz sighed although he already knew he wouldn't be able to get it. 'How much is it, Theodore?'

'You can't afford it.' he shook his head.

He threw his hands up in the air, frustrated. 'Are you serious?'

'But, I will give you the ring if you do something for me.' he smiled and crossed his arms.

Fitz's face lit up but he then looked at him a bit warily. 'Okay. What do you need me to do?'

'I'll be right back!' he grinned and headed towards the back room.

When Theodore returned, he had a huge dog mask in his hands. He smiled brightly and turned it around to face him. ' _Tada!_ '

'What is this?' his face scrunched up.

'This, is Sparky the Dog. Every year he accompanies Santa here at the mall, but our usual person had to drop out at the last minute. I really need a Sparky to do this with.' he smiled and placed the large Dalmatian head on top of the counter.

'So, I have to dress up like a dog for a day?' his eyebrows furrowed.

'Not exactly.' he shook his head. 'Christmas is on Monday, so I really need you to do it for a few days.' he smiled.

'How many days are we talking?'

'Today, Saturday, and Sunday.' he held his hand out. 'Do we have a deal?'

'Wait a minute.' he waved his hand off. 'If I do all of this, then you'll give me that ring? No questions asked?'

'I'll even throw in a pair of diamond studs if you'd like.' he shrugged his shoulders.

Fitz sighed and glanced down at the dog head and then back at Theodore who had the biggest grin on his face. He couldn't believe that he was about to humiliate himself this way, but he'd do anything for his Livvie. All he wanted was for her to have a happy Christmas, so if he had to sacrifice then he'd do it.

'You've got yourself a deal, Theodore.' he reached out and shook the older man's hand.

'Great!' he laughed excitedly. 'Now, you can get changed in the back and go straight down to the kid's area down in the food court!'

'Wait, I have to start like right now?' his eyebrows raised.

'Yes!' he checked his watch. 'And you're already running late!'

* * *

Fitz _really_ didn't like kids.

It wasn't that he absolutely hated them, he just had a strong dislike for them. He was sure that he would love any little human that he and Olivia would create together, but that was going to be way later.

Right now, though, he was running around in a hot, dog suit and wrangling some children together to take pictures with the elves. Theodore, or Santa, wasn't scheduled to arrive until 6pm, but the kids got to enjoy his 'workshop' until he arrived. What made the situation even worse was that the big bruise on his leg was starting to ache as he moved. This definitely wasn't what he was expecting to be doing in the middle of his Friday.

The Sparky head didn't have an opening for the mouth, but Fitz did have a button inside of the suit to make it bark. He wasn't allowed to speak or verbally interact with anyone, so the only way he had to communicate with was dog noises. There was one that made him whimper, one that barked, and one that panted happily.

'Tag! You're it!' a little girl hollered as she came up and smacked Fitz on his bottom and ran off.

He winced but bit down on his lip to keep himself from making any human like noises. Fitz pressed the button that made the barking noise and tried his best to chase after the little girl. It was only then that he realized that he was very out of shape and should probably lay off of some of the brownies they served at work.

The other problem with the costume was Sparky's huge feet. They made it nearly impossible to navigate around and he found himself knocking things over every time he tried to move. He groaned when the little girl ran underneath one of the display tables and he immediately went down on his stomach to try and reach her.

As soon as he was down, a group of kids took the opportunity top hop on top of his back. Fitz grunted as his body was crushed under the weight of what he would have estimated was 30, 7 year olds. In actuality it more like 4, but to him it felt like 30.

He tried to move and get away but they continued to jump up and down and he knew it was of no use. Fitz decided to just lay down and take whatever punishment they had for him because he no longer had the strength to fight them off. It was nearly 3 whole minutes before the elves finally came over to rescue him and help him up off the floor.

'Uh oh, kids!' one of the elves exclaimed to grab their attention. 'I think that Sparky is hurt! Who can help Sparky?'

'We can! We can!' they all exclaimed.

'Sparky needs a big hug from everybody to feel better! On the count of three, everybody run and give Spark a hug! 1! 2! 3!' she yelled.

Fitz braced himself as the group of kids rushed towards him. What started off as a nice gesture turned into a bad idea within seconds. They were all trying to get to him first and they ended up knocking him back over. For the second time today, he felt like crying.

After everyone had gotten their hug and had ran off to do story time with the elves, he left the kid's area and hid himself away in the food court. It was pretty hard to stay low key when he was wearing a huge dog suit, but at least he was away from the kids. He wanted a cup of water, but he couldn't get the suit off by himself so he knew that was out of the question. Honestly, Fitz was just happy he got a chance to sit down for a moment.

He had been looking down at his big, floppy feet when he heard the doors to the food court open up. Fitz smiled brightly when he saw his Livvie walk in, dressed and prepared for her shift at the record shop. Her hair was tied up in a bun, her way of protecting it from the snow, and she had on a pair of green skinny jeans and her favorite coat. He couldn't help but stare as she typed away on her phone.

Olivia looked up when she felt a pair of eyes on her. Her nose crinkled when she caught eyes with the man in the dog suit and she realized that he was staring at her. Sparky had been a tradition in the town for years, but she had no idea who it was in the suit and she found it extremely creepy that they were just staring at her. When Fitz waved his paw at her, she awkwardly waved back and sped up a bit so that she could get to the shop.

She didn't have time to deal with any weirdos today. Olivia had dropped by Fitz's job to surprise him for lunch when she found out the place had been robbed. The police explained to her that Cyrus had let everyone off of work today, but Fitz was no where to be found. He hadn't been answering his phone and when she drove by his apartment she saw that his car wasn't parked outside. It wasn't like him to just go missing without saying anything to her, so she was a bit worried.

Fitz thought about going after her and explaining that it was just him in the suit, he had noticed the look of disgust on her face when she waved back at him, but he decided against it. He was a little ashamed of what he had to do just to make enough to get her Christmas gift. He didn't want Olivia to see him like that.

'Hey, Sparky!' one of the elves called out for the Kid's Zone. 'It's time to sing Santa's Song! Get in here!'

Fitz sighed but stood up to his feet and headed back to work.

* * *

When the mall closed at 9 that night, all of the parents left with their children. Fitz had had the longest few hours of his life and he was more than ready to just go home and crawl into his bed. He absolutely hated the fact that he had to come back and do it all over again the next day, but he knew it'd be worth it.

Most of the stores were still closing up as he trudged back to Theodore's shop so that he could get out of his costume. The zipper was in the back and he would need a little help to do it, so he knew he had to wait. Fitz had to pass by the record store that Olivia was working in, but he hid behind the nutcracker, just as he had done before, so he could get a peak at her.

She was filling in her time card at the front desk and talking on the phone. Olivia dialed Fitz's number and sighed when it rang and went back to his voicemail. 'Hey, babe, it's me again. I haven't heard from you all day. Can you please just call back and let me know you're okay? Bye.'

Fitz wanted to smack himself on the forehead. He hadn't even thought to call Olivia once he left the office, and he hadn't had his phone at all since he had been in Sparky suit. He could only imagine how many times she had called and how many messages she had sent. He knew he was going to have to come up with a really good excuse for this one.

'Hey!' Olivia called out.

While it was normally easy for Fitz to hide behind the life-sized nutcracker, the Sparky suit gave him away. The tail of the suit and the very over exaggerated tongue in the dog's mouth were both very visible. His breath hitched and he panicked as he tried to figure out what his next move should be.

Olivia started to walk from behind the counter. 'Excuse me? Can I help you?'

After not seeing a way out, he decided to make a run for it. He had been crouching down at first, but he got to his feet and bolted off in the direction of the jewelry store. Olivia went after him, now feeling more than creeped out by the weird man in the suit. She made a mental note to talk to Theodore about who he had hired and why he was allowed around so many young kids.

'Ya, you better run!' she hollered after him, not having the energy to chase him down. 'My boyfriend will kick your punk ass!'

That is, if she could get him to answer his phone.

* * *

As soon as Fitz got the suit off, he went straight to his phone and turned it on. He ran his hand down his face as he realized that she had been calling for the past few hours, and now he needed to come up with a good excuse. He was sure that she had already headed home for the evening, but he still took the long way out of the mall so that he wouldn't run into her.

The parking lot was mostly empty but the snow was still steadily falling down. By the time he made it to his car it was nearly 10pm and he was sure that Olivia would be pissed. He sat down in the driver's seat and put his seatbelt on before dialing his number. Fitz made sure to turn the heater on and to lean his seat back so that he could at least be comfortable while he listening to his girlfriend scream at him.

Olivia answered on the first ring and his breath hitched in the back of his throat. When she didn't respond or say anything, he tried to speak up first.

'Hi.' he said hesitantly.

'Fitz, are you crazy!?' she screamed loud enough to make him wince.

He decided to put the call on speakerphone instead of holding it close to his ear. The last thing he needed was to go deaf right before the holidays.

'Let me explain, Livvie—'

'Don't you "Livvie" me!' she interjected. 'I've been calling you all day long!'

'Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I got a little caught up at the office, and—'

'I went by your office today to surprise you at lunch. Cyrus told me all about the robbery.' she said pointedly. 'So, please, lie again.'

Fitz swallowed hard as he tried to come up with something else. That was the only excuse he could come up with so now he was desperately grasping for straws. 'Yes, I know that. We, um… We decided to grab our laptops and head to Starbucks instead. Andrew and I had some last minute accounts to finish up.'

The line went silent for a few moments and he just knew that she didn't believe that story. He couldn't blame her, though. It was a pretty weak excuse.

'Okay, if you were sitting at Starbucks all day then why weren't you answering your phone?' Olivia questioned further. 'You didn't even text me to let me know that you were okay!'

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' he cooed as calmingly as possible. 'I left my phone in my car by mistake. I guess I just got so caught up with work, I didn't even think to look at it.'

'But, it's 10pm! Why are you just calling me back!?'

'Honestly. After we left Starbucks we headed out to a bar. I had a few beers and I was just a little drunk. Andrew dropped me back off at home and I'm just getting back to my phone.' he explained, almost scaring himself at how easy it was for him to make up this story.

'Your story has a lot of holes in it, Fitz!' her eyebrows furrowed. 'You better not be lying to me! If you're lying then I swear to—'

'I'm not lying to you!' he lied.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in between her pointer finger and thumb. 'I was worried about you, Fitz. It's not like you to just go missing out of the blue.'

'Exactly.' he nodded. 'This is my first time ever doing anything like this. May I please get a little pass on this, Ms. Pope?'

Olivia chuckled humorlessly at his attempt to lighten the mood. 'I suppose you can. Only because it's so close to the holidays and I love you very much.'

'Mmm.' he hummed and smiled. 'I love you, too. I love you more than you'll ever know.' Fitz mused as he glanced at the huge sign at the mall that was advertising Sparky and Santa appearances this year.

'Are you still coming over here tonight? I miss you.' she said softly.

'I don't think I'm going to make it tonight.' he frowned. 'I'm just so tired, Liv. I really just need to get some sleep.'

'Oh.' her eyebrows furrowed. 'Why can't you sleep here? Or maybe I can come over and—'

'No.' he shook his head, quickly tossing her idea. 'It's just that I'm already in bed, and my body is still so sore from my fall yesterday. I don't think I'll be able to move. Even if I tried.'

Olivia sighed but nodded her head as if he could see her. 'Alright then. Get some rest then. Make sure you put some ice or something on your hip and try and take some pain meds, alright?'

'Yes maam.' he smiled.

'Alright. I love you.'

'I love you more.'

* * *

Olivia didn't necessarily believe the story that Fitz was trying to feed her the night before, but she really didn't know what the think. He had never lied to her about anything, so this was very new. She tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, though. It was almost Christmas and all she really wanted to do was enjoy herself with her boyfriend.

It was the last Saturday before the 25th, so the mall was pretty packed with people. She had a feeling that the record store wouldn't be filled to the brim, but her boss still wanted her to come in. Olivia didn't really mind working since Fitz had already told her that he and Andrew would be going hunting today. She was a little annoyed that he would choose this time to spend with his friend over her, but she didn't argue with him over it. They usually spent a lot of time together, and she knew it was important for him to still have friends and 'guy time' as he put it.

She walked into the mall through the foodcourt so that she could stop and get herself a sandwich. The lines were ridiculously long, but she knew the guy that worked behind the counter and had called ahead of time. All she had to do was slide him the money and grab her meal and keep moving.

As soon as Olivia turned around she caught eyes with the strange man dressed in the dog suit again. She rolled her eyes as the person waved at her and started walking in the other direction. She had forgotten to tell Fitz about the weirdo at the mall the night before, but she would be sure to let him know when they spoke again.

When she made it to the shop there were already a few people there browsing through the selection. It was really only 5 people in there, but that was considered a crowd compared to the usual amount. The owner of the shop, Edward Davis, had been grooming his son Edison to take over some of their family businesses so he occasionally popped in to help with the store. He was helping a customer when she walked in the shop and put her bag away.

Edison and Olivia had practically grown up together, but she never payed much attention to him. He seemed like a really nice guy, he just wasn't her type. He had asked her out on numerous dates, but she rejected him every time. When Fitz rolled into town and their relationship blossomed, he was furious.

'Good afternoon, Liv.' Edison smiled as he sauntered over to the front desk. He knew she was going to be there today, so he put on one of his nicest suits in an attempt to impress her. It wasn't going to work, but he'd at least try.

'Hey, Eddy.' she greeted, not even bothering to look up from what she was doing. Olivia had been calling him that since they were kids and he hated it, but she refused to stop. It was a habit she wasn't able to break. 'Did you get the rest of those orders ready for today?'

He chuckled. 'You just got here. Must we talk business so soon?'

Her eyes rolled. 'Edison, Mr. Pearson is going to be here in an hour and he's not going to be very happy if his items aren't ready.'

Edison sighed and leaned over the counter, resting on his elbows. 'All of the orders are ready and boxed up. I couldn't tie the ribbon thing around them so I was hoping you would.'

She smiled. 'Perfect! Can you bring them out? It'll only take a second!'

'Sure thing, boss lady.' he said before walking towards the back of the store. Edison's family owned the shop, but they all knew things wouldn't run very smoothly if it weren't for Olivia.

Edison returned with a milk crate full of records. They had a sheet of paper between them, dividing them up by order number. On top of all that was a long piece of gold and red ribbon and a pair of blue scissors. His fingertips started to ache as they pressed into the hard edges of the box, so he dropped it right in front of her. He grunted and shook his hands out as he tried to regain feeling in them. Olivia was staring down at her cellphone and sighed when she realized Fitz hadn't responded to her last message. She hadn't even realized the problem Edison was having with the heavy box.

'Trouble in paradise?' he asked, grabbing her attention once more.

Olivia looked up and slid her cellphone in her back pocket. Despite the fact that Edison was basically in love with her, she actually considered him a friend. He was a pretty annoying person, but he was still a friend. 'Not really. Fitz just hasn't responded to my last message, and I'm a little worried about him.'

'Oh, did you two get into a fight?' he asked curiously.

'No.' she shook her head. 'Not at all. He's just being kinda weird since yesterday.'

'Weird how?'

She sighed. 'Edison this whole thing is really personal. I don't really feel right bringing you into our.'

'Liv, we've known each other since we were 2 years old.' he chuckled. 'You can trust me.'

Olivia cut her eyes, regarding him closely for a few moments. Edison did have a good point, they had been friends for a very long time, plus she kind of wanted to talk to somebody else about the situation. She thought that maybe she was overreacting to the entire thing, so it would be nice to get a second opinion.

'Fitz went missing for a few hours yesterday.' she said, her lips pursing together tightly as she tried to think of what else to say. 'And not just like 2 or 3. I didn't talk to him for the entire day.'

'He was probably just at work, Olivia.' he chuckled.

'I get that.' she nodded. 'But, I didn't hear from him until like 10pm. He gave me this bullshit story about leaving his phone in the car and getting drinks with the guys, but I just don't believe him.'

'So you're saying he's lying to you?' he folded his arms across his chest.

'Maybe.' she sighed. 'I don't know. He's never lied to me before. I don't see why he would start all of a sudden.'

'Well, I'm sorry to say this Olivia, but I think he may be cheating on you.' Edison said sympathetically, although he knew he was jumping to conclusions. He didn't care, though. He never wanted her to be with Fitz in the first place.

Olivia nearly burst into laughter. 'Who? Fitz? I'd never believe it.'

He smirked. 'You're laughing Olivia, but I'm serious. I'm trying to tell you this from another man's perspective.'

'Fitz wouldn't cheat on me.' she shook her head. 'I know that he wouldn't.'

'What other explanation do you have for him all of a sudden just disappearing?' he raised his eyebrows. 'Any man knows to talk to his girlfriend if he plans to be busy. And why not call you before going to get drinks? It was because he was with another woman.'

Olivia touched her hand to her chest as her heart began to beat faster against it. 'Do you really think so?'

'I mean, I can't be for certain.' he shrugged his shoulders. 'Where is he supposed to be today? What's his excuse now?'

'He said that he went hunting with a friend.' she said softly, her mind racing as she tried her best to remember some of the things that Fitz had said earlier. 'His friend from work. His name is Andrew.'

'Does Fitz like to hunt?'

'No.' she shook her head. 'Actually, he hates it. I just assumed he was just going to hang out.'

'Classic.' Edison chuckled humorlessly. 'He told you he went hunting because he knew you wouldn't come looking for him. There's no way you'd leave your house just to go to the woods. This is his way of throwing you off.'

Olivia was just about to give in to Edison's tricks, but she pushed the thoughts out of her head. She didn't know what Fitz was doing, but she didn't believe he was out with another woman. He had been faithful all these years, so she really had no reason to doubt him. She would have to see it for herself, or he'd have to come out and tell her before she believed it.

'Thanks for the insight, Eddy, but I don't think he's cheating on me.' she said, turning her attention down to the orders that she was supposed to be wrapping with ribbons. 'The holidays can get a bit hectic, so maybe he's just a little stressed.'

'Whatever you say, Liv.' he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Edison grabbed the ribbon and the scissors and cut off a long piece to hand to her. 'I just don't want to see you get hurt. We've been friends for a long time now, and I don't know what I'd do if he were to ever upset you.' Edison said in the most sympathetic tone that he could muster up.

'He's not that type of guy. Fitz is sweet and loving and compassionate.' Olivia gushed with a smile on her face. 'It was silly of me not to believe him.'

'It wasn't silly of you.' he disputed. 'It's okay to be skeptical when you think something strange is going on. You wouldn't be human if you didn't have your doubts.'

'You're right.' she agreed as she tied her first bow and moved the stack of records off to the side. 'But, I trust him. He would never betray me.'

About an hour or so later they had a customer come in who bought up their entire $5 and under rack. It was so much that they had to borrow 2 carts from the clothing store next door just so they could get it all out to the man's car. Olivia was sure that she'd be there all night trying to fix the display and restock it, but she tried not to think about it.

While Edison was able to push his load with ease, she was having some trouble. It wasn't that they didn't have the same amount, she was just a bit smaller. Olivia thought she was going to pass out as she pushed the cart through the food court. The man had already pulled his truck up to the door and opened his trunk so that everything could be loaded on. She was breathing hard by the time they made it and had to take a break.

Edison started to load the records when he realized that Olivia had really worked up a sweat. 'Why don't you head back to the shop? I think I can handle things here.'

'Are you sure?' she asked, although she was very excited about the fact that she wouldn't have to do anymore manual labor. 'I don't want to just abandon you out here.'

'I'm positive.' he nodded and stacked up a few more records. 'This shouldn't take me more than 5 minutes.'

Olivia smiled and started walking towards the doors to the mall without further complaint. 'See you inside.'

Edison nearly snorted as she happily skipped back inside. One of the reasons he had fallen for her so hard was her cheery personality. Olivia almost always had a smile on her face, and he loved that about her. She was enough to brighten up a room on even the darkest of days, and thats what he wanted.

Olivia walked as quickly as she could through the food court to try and get back to the record shop. Fitz was currently giving piggyback rides to a group of toddlers, so he had been way too preoccupied to notice her anyway.

She kept her head down low for the most part, until she saw somebody that looked familiar. Her eyebrows furrowed when she realized that it was Fitz's coworker, Andrew. They had had a few dinners with him and his wife, so she knew his face almost anywhere. They were in the Yankee Candle store smelling some of the different scents as she passed.

Olivia walked into the store with her eyebrows furrowed. She gently tapped on Andrew and Cheryl's shoulders to get their attention, and they both turned around. They smiled when they realized who it was, and they both went in to hug her.

'It's so nice to see you, Olivia.' Cheryl gushed. 'You look absolutely amazing. Are you doing some last minute shopping?'

'No.' she shook her head. 'Actually, I just took up a little seasonal job at the record shop. Since school is out I didn't really have much to do, and it wouldn't hurt to have some extra money in my pocket.'

'I completely understand that.' Andrew nodded. 'I probably need to do that, too. This one right here would spend my entire check in this store is she could.' he teased.

Olivia smiled and laughed lightly to be polite, but she had other things on her mind. 'Andrew, have you seen Fitz today?'

Andrew's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to come up with the right answer. He hadn't even spoken to Fitz since they saw each other at the office, but he didn't want to tell her that. When he hesitated to answer, Cheryl spoke up instead.

'We've been together all day, Liv.' she explained. 'We haven't seen Fitz.'

'Oh.' she huffed lightly.

'Is there something wrong?' Andrew asked nervously, realizing that they may have just gotten him into a world of trouble.

'It's just that Fitz told me that you guys would be going hunting this morning.' she said, folding her arms against her chest. 'Did he talk to you at all?'

'He did.' Andrew lied. 'It was a big group of us going. I had to back out at the last minute, but I'm sure he's just out with the other guys.' he explained with a smile.

Olivia cut her eyes at him. She could tell that Andrew was obviously hiding something, but she knew she couldn't just accuse him of lying. She would have to get to the bottom of the situation when she finally caught up with Fitz to hear his side of the story.

'That's interesting. Well, I guess I'll see you guys later. I need to head back to the shop.' she said, gesturing towards the door.

'Have a good day, Liv. Don't hesitate to come over for dinner on Christmas. We're going to have enough for everybody.' Cheryl said as she hugged Olivia goodbye.

'Will do.' she smiled and nodded her head.

As soon as Olivia was out of the store, Cheryl smacked Andrew on his shoulder. 'Were you covering for Fitz?'

'Ow!' he hissed and rubbed his arm. 'No! I don't know! I haven't talked to him!'

'Then why would you tell Liv some bogus story about him being out hunting?' she yelled back at him, now causing a bit of a scene at the store.

'Would you keep your voice down?' he begged, glancing around the store and seeing that all eyes were on them. 'I don't know where Fitz is right now. He's probably just in bed asleep or something.'

'He may be stepping out on her!' she stomped her foot. 'Why didn't you just say that you didn't know?'

'Because it's none of our business, Cheryl.' he said pointedly. 'And, Fitz would never cheat on Olivia. He loves that woman to death. You should see all of the pictures of her he has on his desk.'

'A few printed pictures don't mean shit if he's having sex with other women.' she rolled her eyes. 'You find Fitz, and you find him now!' Cheryl demanded before putting the candle in her hand into the shopping basket and going to find something else.

Andrew sighed and shook his head. He took his phone out and tried to call Fitz, but it went straight to his voicemail. After realizing that he probably wouldn't be able to reach him, he sent him a text.

 **Olivia is looking for you! You're dead!**

* * *

By the time the mall was getting ready to close down for the evening, Olivia still hadn't heard anything from Fitz. She had spent the entire time worrying the day before, but now she was angry. It was obvious that he had lied to her once again about his whereabouts and now she wanted answers.

'I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow at the Christmas Carnival, Olivia.' Edison said as he slid his arms through his jacket.

Olivia had been restocking the discount rack when she looked up and saw he was getting ready to leave. 'Oh, wait. Eddy can you stay a little longer and walk me out of the building tonight? There's some weirdo around here and I think he's following me.'

'Weirdo?' his raised his eyebrows and walked over to where she was sitting down on the floor. 'What kind of weirdo?'

'I'm not sure.' she murmured as she neatly stacked up some more of the records. 'But, yesterday the guy in the Sparky suit was hiding behind the nutcracker outside and watching me.'

His jaw dropped. 'Are you serious?'

'Yes!' she said, pointing outside he shop window. 'He was crouched down behind it. The only reason he left was because I ran him off.'

'Well, usually it's just Mr. Greg in the Sparky suit.' he mused. 'I don't think he'd do anything to hurt you.'

Olivia shook her head. 'I talked to Theodore earlier today. He said that Mr. Greg was sick and couldn't do it this year.'

'He didn't mention who the new guy was?'

'I asked him, but he told me he couldn't tell me.' she scoffed. 'This dude may be some type of serial killer.'

Edison chuckled. 'A serial killer in a dog costume, Liv? Let's be rational.'

'I am!' she hissed. 'He's probably trying to wait until I leave out of the store and I'm all by myself. It's a grown man in that suit.'

'You're right.' he nodded. 'And you only weigh 50 pounds soaking wet, so I'm sure it'll be easy for him to snatch you up.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Ha-ha. You're so funny. Can you just stay with me for a little while longer?'

'Anything for you.' he smiled and sat down on the floor next to her to help her finish stocking the shelf.

Now that the work day was over, Fitz and Theodore were walking back towards the jewelry shop so that they could change out of their outfits. He was more than ready to get home and crawl underneath his covers after the long day that he had. His head was pounding from listening to all of the kids scream and laugh and cry for the past few hours and he thought it may explode.

As they passed by the record shop, he decided to take a quick glance in. He knew how much he had freaked her out the night before, so already knew he wasn't going to try to stop and watch her. Plus, he had Theodore with him tonight and he knew the older man probably wouldn't want to sit there and spy on Olivia with him.

Usually around this time, Olivia would be getting ready to close things down and get home. Fitz was a little surprised to see her sitting on the floor, still hard at work on fixing the display case. He was even more surprised to see that she was with Edison and they looked very cozy together. She had been telling him for years that they were just friends, but Fitz still didn't like the guy. He could tell he had feelings for Olivia and that he wasn't the type to give up very easily.

He sighed when he realized that there wasn't really anything he could do about the situation right now. Fitz was counting down the hours until he could finally take the suit off and just be himself again. He blamed himself for this entire situation. If he hadn't been so anxious to get to Olivia, he would've remembered to grab his jacket on the way out of the office.

When they made it back to the shop, Theodore unzipped the head on the back of the Sparky costume and Fitz immediately took it off. He took a few deep breaths of fresh air and placed the head on top of one of the counters. He then slid the costume down his body and went into the backroom to get his shoes and phone. There was sweat dripping down his back and his hair was soaking went from being in the suit all day.

As soon as he turned his phone on, he saw all of the missed calls from Olivia, and Andrew's text. He sighed and slid his phone into his pocket as he tried to come up with a different excuse for today. Fitz could tell that her patience was wearing thin, but he didn't know what else to do at this point. He only needed one more day, and then they'd be home free.

Fitz waved to Theodore and walked out of the shop. He called Olivia back once he made it inside of his car and started on his way home. His body was sore and he was very tired so he really just wanted to get home. He wasn't sure what all Andrew had told her earlier, so he knew he had to be very cautious.

Olivia answered on the first ring and didn't even give him time to speak. 'Where are you?'

'I'm at home in bed.' he lied as he drove out of the mall's parking lot. 'Why? What's up?'

'I saw Andrew and Cheryl today at the mall.' she said in a matter of fact tone. 'If you weren't out hunting with them, then where have you been?'

He swallowed hard, cursing as he realized he should've come up with a better plan. 'He cancelled on me last minute, so I decided not to go. I've been asleep all day long.'

Her eyebrows furrowed. 'This is the second day in a row that you've gone missing. What's the truth, Fitz? Just tell me. I won't be upset.'

'I'm telling you the truth, Olivia.' he said as he pulled up into his apartment complex. 'I went to the doctor today to get some pain medicine for my hip, then I came home and went to bed.'

The line went quiet for a few moments then she spoke lowly. 'Are you cheating on me?'

'What?' he hissed, his eyes getting wide. 'Of course not! Who told you that?'

'Nobody!' she yelled back. 'I just can't think of another reason why you would all of a sudden start disappearing without telling me where you are!'

'Did Edison put this in your head?' he asked, his jaw clenched tightly. 'What did he say?'

She cut her eyes. 'What does this have to do with Edison?'

Fitz sighed. He knew he couldn't come out and say he saw her with Edison today because that would just throw the whole thing off. 'Nothing. Forget I mentioned his name. Olivia, I love you very much. I would never cheat on you.'

'Then why are you lying to me!?'

'I'm not!' he roared, praying that she would just drop it.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. 'I can't have this conversation with you right now, Fitz. Can I just see you tomorrow night so that we can speak in person?'

His eyebrows furrowed. Fitz thought that she would suggest that he come over immediately so that they could talk the situation out. It was a good thing because he was tired and all he wanted to do was go home, but he was a little concerned that she didn't want to see him.

'Why can't we talk tonight?'

'Because you're getting on my nerves and I don't feel like looking at you right now.' she said boldly. 'I just want to get into bed and get my mind off of this.'

He thought about objecting, but then realized how stupid that would be. He was too tired to fight or argue with her tonight, especially since it would require him coming up with more lies. 'Fine. I'll see you then. I love—'

The phone clicked, signaling to him that she had hung up.

* * *

The next day was absolute torture for the both of them. While Olivia was overly anxious about the conversation she would have to have with Fitz, Fitz was preparing for the last day on his job as Sparky. It was Christmas Eve, so he just knew that the mall would be extra busy. The facility was only going to stay open until 5, but people were lined up to meet Santa and Sparky.

It was the busiest day of the year for the stores in the mall. Olivia had wanted to avoid working so close to Christmas, but when Mr. Davis offered her double pay, she knew she couldn't turn it down. As upset as she was with Fitz, she still loved him. They had been saving up money for their vacation and the cash would be a wonderful boost to the funds.

Because of all the commotion in the foodcourt, she seriously doubted that the record shop would get that much attention. Edison hadn't made it in yet by the time she arrived, so she opened the doors and turned all the lights on. Olivia was glad that she stayed a little later the night before to restock the shelf, because she definitely didn't feel like doing it right then.

No more than 30 minutes later, Edison was coming in with a red suit on. It wasn't his normal style, but he was determined to at least get a compliment out of Olivia. He swaggered towards the desk and put his briefcase down, clearing his throat to get his attention.

'Good morning, Eddy.' Olivia said, not even looking up from the magazine she was reading. She could smell his cologne from the doorway of the store, so she knew it was him.

'Hey, Liv.' he smiled and leaned against the countertop. 'How was your conversation with Grant?'

Her nose crinkled slightly, but she knew she had brought this upon herself. She allowed Edison to get too close into her personal relationship and now he was just being nosy. 'Great, actually. Everything is great.'

His eyebrows furrowed when he heard that. Obviously he didn't know for sure if Fitz was cheating on her or not, but he wasn't expecting this answer. He had been hoping they had some type of big argument which ended in her single.

'Well, that's good.' he grumbled. 'Can I ask you something, though?'

'Go for it, Eddy.' she said as she continued to absentmindedly flip through the magazine pages.

'Have you ever thought about us?'

Olivia nearly choked as her head shot up to look at him. 'What are you talking about?'

He smiled lightly, obviously nervous about where this conversation was going. 'I mean like you and me.'

She sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Edison, not this again. I already told you that we work so much better as just friends. I think that's where we need to keep our relationship.'

'Oh, of course, of course.' he said as if he agreed with her. 'I was just wondering if you ever thought about it. Not that I'm trying to ask you out anymore because I know that that would be crossing boundaries because we're such good friends. But, isn't it just funny to think about?'

Olivia cut her eyes at him. 'I mean, I guess it's a little funny. My mind has never gone that way, though.'

'Sometimes I think about how we would probably have a kid or something by now.' he laughed timidly. 'Something like Edison Jr. or something.'

'I suppose it's a little funny.' her nose crinkled at the thought. She was going to try and find a way out the the conversation, but a customer walked in and she rushed over to see what they needed help with.

Fitz's day had been pretty much the same as the previous ones, but today was much worse. It seemed like the amount of kids had doubled, and they were all hyped up on the free cupcakes that were being served. The only thing keeping him going was the fact that he didn't have to stay as long as usual, and that he'd be getting the ring after this ordeal was over.

Despite the fact that he had to work for months to get the bracelet he had bought for her, he ended up working way harder for this ring. In the past hour alone he had gotten peed on, sat on, and one of them had kicked him right in between the legs. Every time Santa took a picture, he had to take one as well.

The real festivities didn't really start until noon. Most people in the small town would come out and watch the mayor of the city turn on the Christmas tree one last time before Christmas Day. Santa, the elves, and Sparky would all give out gifts to everybody there, and there was music and food for everyone.

Theodore had given Fitz Olivia's ring as soon as he made it in that morning. Just as he promised, he threw in a pair of diamond studs for his troubles. They weren't the most expensive pair in the store, but they were pretty and Fitz knew they would look good on her. She wasn't into wearing a lot of expensive jewelry, but she was going to need them soon. It was only going to be a little while longer before he was whisking her away to fancy dinner parties and international trips. One of the elves helped him wrap his gifts and he put it on top of his stuff so that he'd remember to grab it on his way out from work.

When it was time to start handing out gifts, Fitz took a sack and threw it over his shoulder. It was large and red and made from a very soft velvet. They were mostly all small things like $5 gift cards or decorative cups, but there was a possibility of getting a spa day or even a mini vacation. People were pulling him in every direction, scrambling to see what exactly they'd be getting out of the bag.

Olivia and Edison had closed down the shop for a bit so that they could celebrate with everybody else. They had both been attending the festival since they were kids, and there was no way that they would miss it now. She was still wearing her coat from earlier, so she kept her hands tucked away in her pockets. Edison, on the other hand, was standing extremely close to her as they walked through the crowd. It was almost as if he was letting everybody around them know that Olivia was with him and that nobody else should approach.

Fitz knew that Olivia would never cheat on him, and that it was only natural for them to come to the festival together. That didn't make him feel any less jealous, though. He could just tell that Edison had something up his sleeve, and he didn't want his Livvie to have anything to do with it.

He couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, but he saw Edison put his hand on the small of Olivia's back as he lead her towards the punch bowl. She immediately moved away from his greedy fingers, but not before Fitz's blood started boiling. He was about to drop his sack and head straight over to where they were and step up to Edison, but somebody grabbed his arm.

Theodore, dressed in his Santa suit, had also been handing out gifts. He saw the moment Olivia headed to the area with Edison, and when Fitz noticed them. He couldn't exactly see his face because it was underneath the mask, but he could tell by his body language that he was getting ready to lay hands on the guy.

He smiled brightly and spoke in a very cheery tone so that their conversation seemed normal amongst the chaos around them. 'Hey there, Sparky. I think theres' a special gift you want to give somebody now. It's back in the workshop.'

Fitz nodded and pressed the button to make so that he could 'bark'. He laid his sack down but tied it up tightly so that nobody would mess with it while he was gone. There were plenty of parents and kids trying to stop him so they could get a picture, but he continued on his way towards the workshop. The gift was tucked away into his jacket pocket and he struggled to get it out with his large paws, but he eventually was holding it in his palms.

Olivia hadn't heard from Fitz all day, but she was trying to keep him out of her mind. She wasn't sure what had gotten into him lately, but she knew she'd find out by the end of the night. She and Edison were carefully navigating through the crowd so that they could line up to get gifts from one of the sacks. Most of them were Starbucks gift cards and they were both hoping for one so that they could get a coffee before opening the shop again.

One of the elves reached deep down into her bag and handed them both an envelope. They both ripped through the paper and grinned at each other when they saw that they got wha they wanted. Olivia and Edison were just about to turn around and leave when Fitz touched her shoulder. It had taken him a minute to work his way back through the crowd, but he was just happy he caught her.

Edison remembered that she mentioned she was having a problem with the guy in the suit. His eyebrows furrowed and he stepped in between them. 'We already have our gifts. No, thanks.'

Fitz rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure if he wanted to beat Edison's ass for ever being so bold, or thank him for protecting his Livvie while he wasn't around. Instead, he reached around where Edison was standing and put the gift box into Olivia's hand. Before either of them could object, he went back to his sack that he had laid down earlier. He still had to be on the job for a few more hours so he didn't have time to stick around and wait for her to open it.

Olivia raised her eyebrows. She slid her gift card into her pocket and then opened the box. Her jaw dropped when she saw the ring that was sitting on top. It was simple, yet beautiful and elegant. Edison stood over her shoulder, curiously watching what she pulled out.

'Wow.' he murmered. 'I guess you got one of the grand prizes.'

'I guess so.' she smiled lightly. 'I've never won one before. I always end up with a Slinky or something like that.'

'These earrings came from Theodore's place. I've seen a pair like them in the window.' Edison said as he picked them up out of the box.

'There's a note here.' Olivia put the ring box into her pocket and got the small sheet of paper out.

'What does it say?' he asked, squinting his eyes a bit to read Fitz's hand writing.

 _I will always love you more._

Olivia's eyebrows raised. 'I don't think this was a grand prize. This is from that guy in the suit.'

'Are you serious?' he scoffed. 'That guy is such a creep. I should go kick his ass right now. He's probably been stalking you, Olivia. He's obsessed. This gift looks like it cost a fortune.'

She sighed. 'Don't go doing anything stupid, Edison. I'm just going to return it to him and tell him I'm not interested in his advances. He doesn't seem very malicious— just confused.'

'You're crazy.' he shook his head and started leading her away from the Christmas carnival. 'He could try and kidnap you or something like that, and you're trying to reason with him.'

'I'm not going to do it by myself.' she huffed lightly. 'I'll do it in front of Theodore. If he tries anything then he'll see what's going on.'

'And what is Theodore going to do?' his eyebrow cocked. 'Beat him with his cane?'

Olivia snorted. 'Shut up. I'll be fine.'

* * *

After getting coffee and a little lunch, they returned to the shop. Only one other person dropped in before the mall closed, but they were both very happy about that. Olivia helped Edison tidy some things up around the shop because it would be her last day working there. After New Years, she'd be preparing her classroom again for her students.

They didn't talk anymore about the gift she had received, but it was weighing very heavily on her mind. She hoped that whoever it was would just take the box back and leave her alone, although she was very reluctant to give up the ring. Olivia really didn't like wearing jewelry of any kind, but the accessory had really caught her eye.

Once they locked the doors, Edison reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it over and she studied it curiously.

'What's this?' her eyebrows raised as sh ran her thumb underneath the seal to open it.

'My father really wanted to send you a Christmas bonus.' he shrugged and smiled. 'I hope you enjoy it.'

'Oh, I can't take his Eddy.' she tried to hand it back to him. 'Tell Mr. Davis that he's done more than enough for me. This is too much.'

'It's not enough.' he pushed it back towards her. 'And, he insisted. He also wanted me to let you know that he'd be brining some books and supplies by your classroom for the kids.'

'Well, he's too kind.' she smiled lightly, still very reluctant about the bonus. 'I'm sure the kids would love anything that he brings. I can arrange a free day for them so they can make thank you notes and cards.'

'He'd really like that.' Edison nodded and leaned against the glass window of the shop, his hands digging into his coat pockets. 'Why don't we go out to dinner tonight? You just got a Christmas bonus, so I'm thinking your treat.' he teased lightly in the hopes she'd say yes.'

Olivia chuckled humorlessly. 'That would be very inappropriate. It's late, and I should be getting home. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.'

He sighed but smiled. 'Well, I can always say that I tried. I'm going to wear you down one of these days, Olivia. As soon as you get tired of putting up with Grant, let my number be the first one you call.'

Her nose crinkled, but she nodded. 'I'll be sure to do that.'

Edison turned his back to walk away and Olivia dramatically gagged at the thought. She pulled the check out of the envelope and gasped when she saw the number on it. Mr. Davis had always been a very generous man, but she was positive that it was his son who decided on the amount. It had been a very long time since she had even seen $5,000 extra dollars in her account, and she was very excited to put deposit it. This would be just enough for her and Fitz to take their dream vacation.

That's if she still even had a boyfriend after tonight.

Before she went to her car, she knew that she needed to stop by the foodcourt. She had carefully wrapped the gifts back into the box so that she could return it the way it was handed to her. She sighed with relief when she saw that Theodore and all the elves were there helping clean up the mess from earlier. Just in case there was a psycho in that suit, there would be plenty of witnesses.

Fitz was just about to take the head off of his suit when he saw Olivia marching down the hall and towards them. He had hoped that she saw the note at the bottom and knew that the gift was from him. He was sitting down in a chair outside of the workshop when she entered the play area. It was only then that she realized that she looked more angry than anything else.

Olivia ignored everybody else around her, and tossed the box into Fitz's lap. She crossed her arms against her chest and spoke sternly. 'I don't want any gifts from you. This pursuit needs to end right now. I have a boyfriend.'

He groaned lowly and stood to his feet. Fitz put the box in his chair and took a step closer to Olivia. She backed away but it was fairly easy to keep up with her. She ended up pressing into the workshop, now trapped between the wood and him.

'You better back off of me before I scream.' she warned nervously.

Fitz nearly snorted at her threat. He reached and removed the head from the costume and dropped it to the floor. His face was red and his hair was wet with sweat from being in the hot suit the entire day. He took another step closer to her, ignoring the fact that it looked like she had just seen the 10 ghosts.

'Wait.' she put her hand in between them as she tried to process what was going on. 'Fitz—'

'Shush.' he commanded before leaning in and kissing her deeply.

The only thing that could be heard in the mall that night was the sound of the dying speaker playing 'Winter Wonderland', and Theodore and all his elves catcalling and cooing at them as they nearly devoured each other against the wall of the workshop.

* * *

A/N: This is late and I know it. But, I've been traveling for the past few days and it's been really hard to write. Better late than never, I suppose. This is definitely different than the things I normally do, but I really just wanted a sweet little feel good Christmas story. I hope everybody enjoyed their holidays and have a happy New Year!


End file.
